Page Turners: Summer reading
Fill your summer reading list with these selections that include memoirs, history lessons, social justice and more.
From Football to Soccer: The Early History of the Beautiful Game in the United States
By Brian D. Bunk
Publish date: July 13; University of Illinois Press
Bunk introduces readers to an America that is very much a part of soccer history. From native people and colonists playing rudimentary kicking games, to the birth of pro soccer after World War I, to soccer having its place further cemented with the arrival of British immigrants, the game’s lineage in the U.S. is a surprisingly long one.
Agent You: Show Up, Do the Work, and Succeed on Your Own Terms
By Nicole Lynn
Publish date: July 13; Harper Horizon
The first Black female agent to represent a top-three NFL draft pick, Lynn shares the secrets of her success while diving into the journey that took her to Klutch Sports Group — a rise from childhood poverty, a turn as a Wall Street analyst and then attorney, and finally becoming one of football’s preeminent agents.
Memories from the Microphone: A Century of Baseball Broadcasting
By Curt Smith
Publish date: Aug. 3; National Baseball Hall of Fame Books
Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the first baseball game broadcast on the radio, this book celebrates the radio and TV announcers who have their own place in the sport’s history, while also examining the technological trends that changed how fans experienced the game.
The Barcelona Complex: Lionel Messi and the Making — and Unmaking — of the World’s Greatest Soccer Club
By Simon Kuper
Publish date: Aug. 17; Penguin Press
Journalist Kuper takes at the world’s highest grossing sports organization, tracing its rise from a regional squad to a global powerhouse that has more social media followers than all 32 NFL teams combined. With Messi’s career winding down, the battle to stay on top will only get tougher.
Out of the Pocket: Football, Fatherhood, and College GameDay Saturdays
By Kirk Herbstreit
Publish date: Aug. 17; Atria Books
Popular ESPN personality Herbstreit gives fans a behind-the-scenes view at how football season unfolds for him, from the locker rooms to the stadiums to the set, while sharing insights he’s gathered from college football’s biggest names and how he got his seat on “College GameDay.”
All In: An Autobiography
By Billie Jean King
Publish date: Aug. 17; Knopf
Timed for release just ahead of the U.S. Open, the tennis legend paints a self-portrait of her life and career, covering not just her myriad on-court accomplishments, but also her involvement in the women’s and LGBTQ rights movements. King shares what she’s learned along the way.
COVID Curveball: An Inside View of the 2020 Los Angeles Dodgers World Championship Season
By Tim Neverett
Publish date: Aug. 31; Permuted Press
Dodgers broadcaster Neverett takes readers inside one of the strangest baseball seasons ever, providing a firsthand look at how the Dodgers kept their focus en route to a World Series victory and sharing his exclusive access from a time when fans were largely unable to participate.
Olympic Pride, American Prejudice: The Untold Story of 18 African Americans Who Defied Jim Crow and Adolf Hitler to Compete in the 1936 Berlin Olympics
By Deborah Riley Draper
Publish date: Sept. 14; Atria Books
This book shines a light on the lesser-known teammates of Jesse Owens, who competed despite the turbulent politics at home and abroad.
The Kaepernick Effect: Taking a Knee, Changing the World
By Dave Zirin
Publish date: Sept. 14; The New Press
Journalist Zirin chronicles the beginning and evolution of the mass movement for racial justice among all levels of athletes, sparked by Colin Kaepernick’s 2016 protest that soon proliferated throughout the sports world and continues today.
The Forgotten First: Kenny Washington, Woody Strode, Marion Motley, Bill Willis, and the Breaking of the NFL Color Barrier
By Keyshawn Johnson and Bob Glauber
Publish date: Sept. 21; Grand Central Publishing
Former NFL wide receiver Johnson teams up with Newsday columnist Glauber to uncover the groundbreaking and little-known story of the Black pioneers who changed the face of the league.
